Hot Riding preparation

[Catrin]

I've done something wrong with preparing for hot rides recently and am curious what others do. Last night's ride is a good example - is there anything apparent that I am not doing properly?

I knew it would be over 90 last night, so I drank more water yesterday than usual, and after 12 I drank nothing but water. I waited until 6 to ride, and had dinner an hour before riding so that things would have a bit of a chance to digest.

For the first 30-40 minutes of my ride my stomach was unsettled - not quite nauseous but close. So close that I rode longer in the park than I wanted to in case it got worse and I needed to go home. It finally settled and I left the park to hit my shorter loop before going back through the park to go home. I tried to focus on just riding, not hitting it hard.

I didn't apply sunscreen because I wanted to sweat and it was cloudy/sun at a lower angle. I did drink whenever I thought about it, though when I got home I found that I hadn't drunk as much from my pack as I had thought, and I didn't put much Heed into my pack - there may not have been enough for my needs. Halfway through I did stop in some shade and had a shot block, the one with the increased sodium.

I've been riding/hiking in hot weather all along, but the last couple rides have been similar. Is there anything obvious in my preparation for the ride last night that I can tweak? It could be no more than the hour between dinner and bike wasn't quite long enough

[malkin]

Sometimes it is just too hot. I can take it easy or I can get sick. Because it is dry here, it can help to wear a damp woven shirt over whatever else I have on, but your humidity is another story.

[Trek-chick]

When I would commute on hot (90* + days) I would wet my hair and jersey down before I left. I usually do not like to commute on very hot days though. My commute is 16 miles. Always drink a lot of water even before you ride, that seemed to help me too.

I would drink water constantly throughout my workday, for my long commute home.

[Melalvai]

I read an article about the physiology of adapting to heat. It involves an increase in your blood volume-- to compensate for the blood being shunted to the periphery which is part of the cooling mechanism. In very athletic people it's a matter of days, otherwise it can be weeks.

Loading up on the water might do more harm because you dilute sodium & potassium. I don't know if shot blocks have potassium and might not have enough sodium for the rides you are doing.

I was very upset Monday night. After 60-80 miles a day for Bike Across Kansas, I came home and tried to do a one-hour evening ride. I nearly throw up. We didn't actually have much heat last week in Kansas, oddly enough.

[Catrin]

I read an article about the physiology of adapting to heat. It involves an increase in your blood volume-- to compensate for the blood being shunted to the periphery which is part of the cooling mechanism. In very athletic people it's a matter of days, otherwise it can be weeks.

Loading up on the water might do more harm because you dilute sodium & potassium. I don't know if shot blocks have potassium and might not have enough sodium for the rides you are doing.

I was very upset Monday night. After 60-80 miles a day for Bike Across Kansas, I came home and tried to do a one-hour evening ride. I nearly throw up. We didn't actually have much heat last week in Kansas, oddly enough.

I think I read the same article and that makes sense. I've certainly ridden longer distances in recent weeks in similar temps - though for those rides the temps were rapidly rising, it wasn't already at the high point for the day. While I got hot on those rides, I didn't get sick to my stomach. Shot blocks do have potassium (I am pretty sure at least, and the Hammer Heed does) and I had the Margarita blocks which have double the sodium of the regular blocks.

Good food for thought, every season is a learning experience! Thankfully I hope to be on the trails this weekend, it is so much more comfortable to be in the woods when it is hot

[BikeDutchess]

I read an article about the physiology of adapting to heat. It involves an increase in your blood volume-- to compensate for the blood being shunted to the periphery which is part of the cooling mechanism. In very athletic people it's a matter of days, otherwise it can be weeks.

If anyone has a link to that article I would love to read it.

I always have a very difficult time with the heat. Went on a club ride this morning in what I'm sure was 90+ degree weather (at least towards the end) and my jersey basically stayed dry because any sweat immediately evaporated (I knew I was sweating because my face tasted very salty). It was so dry and windy it felt like riding in an oven. As we were nearing the end of the ride I noticed my heart rate was hovering in zone 5 and just wouldn't come down, even though it was a flat ride with lots of tailwind in the 2nd half. I'm sure all the soot in the air from the fires wasn't helping either. I was squirting water on me to try & cool down, and finally cried uncle when we got back to the starting point - asked hubby to come get me so I wouldn't have to climb the hill to get home. If I lived in a humid climate I don't know that I would be riding at all.

[Catrin]

What is your helmet like? Is it lightweight and vented? Just one or the other? Or neither?

Is your hair damp with sweat at the end of a ride? Can you feel any air getting to your scalp when you ride?

This is the helmet I ride on the road - it is a UVEX mtb helmet. The color is different but I think it is just last year's version - it doesn't seem overly heavy and has bug netting on the front vents. I have a more robust mtb helmet for trail riding.

I can't seem to remember feeling any air getting to my scalp, but my hair wasn't drenching wet when I got home last night - though generally is at the back of my neck. I will pay more attention to this,

When I would commute on hot (90* + days) I would wet my hair and jersey down before I left. I usually do not like to commute on very hot days though. My commute is 16 miles. Always drink a lot of water even before you ride, that seemed to help me too.

I would drink water constantly throughout my workday, for my long commute home.

Good idea about doing that before you leave the office. So far I've not commuted in very hot temps as the one day I commute is my short, 4 hour day (I work 4 nine hour days and 1 four), which means I am typically home between 12:30-1:00. My ride home is close to the distance you ride, and features more climbing than the flat/downhill, and shorter, route to work.

The almost-nausea started almost immediately after getting on the bike, it may have been hotter than I realized. With the low humidity it just didn't FEEL that hot.

[OakLeaf]

I was going to suggest sodium but Mel beat me to it.

Nausea is the #1 symptom I get when I'm not getting enough sodium. For me, though, it persists throughout the day (and will go on and get worse for as many days as it takes for me to figure it out and drop a few Zenergize tablets or whatever ), so I'd still wonder in your case whether it wasn't simple overheating.

I know people who keep water bottles in the freezer, so they'll thaw and provide cool water as they ride.

[Catrin]

I've been experimenting with something called "Salt Stick", they are in capsules like Enduroytes but are said to have a better nutritional profile. I had intended on taking one before the ride, and will try this next time.

It may well have simply been hotter than I realized and was tricked by the low humidity. Usually, however, that kind of problem presents in the latter half of the ride not the first...and I felt much better by the end of the ride.

Good thoughts everyone, and thanks!